A ridiculous number of questions about races and species.

[phedre]

we had a deranged MWE NPC once in Caldaria. It threw Love 9. We ended up with a very angry High Orc.

 

[FrankManic]

Thought: Barbarians don't typically use writing. Which implies they have a primarily oral culture. Which implies that they tell stories, teach lessons, remember laws, history, and lineages, and discuss philosophy primarily by oral means. Which, in turn, suggests that whatever language they do speak, people who are able to use that language very well would be highly valued and things like poetry and story telling would be valued. But 'speak poorly' is listed in the barbarian RP requirements.

 

[jnelson]

The way I have always seen that is this:

There is a common tongue that all races should know how to speak...that's how we all can communicate with each other. However each race likely has it's own language, sometimes with different regional dialects.

Just because a Barbarian doesn't speak common very well, doesn't mean he isn't highly fluent with his/her own language. Perhaps his/her inability to speak common well is due to the fact that he/she has little contact with peoples outside of his/her tribe. When they exchange stories and relate their history, it is likely to be in their own language, not common.

 

[Wraith]

Problem being that given the way we do languages, that would mean that barbarian players need to be bilingual. Otherwise we're right back to the World Of Darkness "Hold up an L to represent speaking another language." methods.

 

[phedre]

I think the idea is that while we're out adventuring, we're all going to speak Common, or that when the Mists put us there, we are all magically speaking it. I've seen people have things written in other languages (mainly Elvish).

IMO, if you want to speak without being overheard, go in your ward and whisper, or write notes to each other, or actually speak another language IRL.

 

[jnelson]

Problem being that given the way we do languages, that would mean that barbarian players need to be bilingual. Otherwise we're right back to the World Of Darkness "Hold up an L to represent speaking another language." methods.

Only if he/she actually wants to speak with someone in that other language. It can still be used as a reason why they aren't perfectly fluent in common. They can simply refuse to allow "outsiders" to hear their "native" language.

 

[Wraith]

True, but it still comes off as cheese if two barbarians of the same culture who can boast of having a highly developed second language are incapable of actually talking to each other in it, no?

 

[Angrydurf]

Not really. They get no real bonus for this other language that they can't actually speak its just an interesting RP element. They refuse to let outsiders hear the "mothertounge" or whatever so they only speak it when they are certain of thier privacy (IE in thier homelands away from these untrustworthy adventurer types.

 

[Marcena]

Why are orcs violent?

My character is intent on figuring such things out. The biological differences between all the races, especially high orcs, high ogres, and wylderkin; the "uncivilized" races. What makes them differ from their monster and animal counterparts.

Not much success yet.

 

[Wraith]

Why are orcs violent?

My character is intent on figuring such things out. The biological differences between all the races, especially high orcs, high ogres, and wylderkin; the "uncivilized" races. What makes them differ from their monster and animal counterparts.

Not much success yet.

It's pretty much just a case of 'because we say so', really. Monster is in the eye of the beholder, and frankly too many PCs are quick to assume things are monsters and roll them for treasure. More plot teams need to have 'monsters' that get rolled turn up with magistrates, intent on pressing charges for their murders. :twisted:

 

[phedre]

my favorite instruction EVER as an NPC:

After Henry got killed as a benny unicorn and yelled for at 3 AM as he was falling asleep, he was sick of the PCs. So he told me: "Go into town, and someone has to do XYZ, but it will act as a killing blow. If they don't Life you, come get me and you will resurrect and appear in the Earth Circle. I'm sick of this ********. I'm going to *mutter mutter mutter*"

High Orcs are designed to be fighters (hence the racial prof and racial slay), and usually the agressive types. Plus, they are green and tusked, which can look like an NPC if the character is unknown and lightly costumed.

 

[FrankManic]

Why are orcs violent?

My character is intent on figuring such things out. The biological differences between all the races, especially high orcs, high ogres, and wylderkin; the "uncivilized" races. What makes them differ from their monster and animal counterparts.

Not much success yet.

It's pretty much just a case of 'because we say so', really. Monster is in the eye of the beholder, and frankly too many PCs are quick to assume things are monsters and roll them for treasure. More plot teams need to have 'monsters' that get rolled turn up with magistrates, intent on pressing charges for their murders. :twisted:

I love seeing 'Because we say so' turn into 'Well, about two generations ago there was an awful war between such and such and such and such. The Orcs were violently ejected from their land by a superior force. A couple of tribes, though, painted themselves with blood and jumped around and were basically so scary and aggressive that the enemy commander decided to avoid them because he was afraid he'd take too many losses conquering those tribes. Since then those tribes have been much stronger than the other orc tribes and have a lot of prestige amongst the orc culture. As a result, great bravado and aggression have become important to the orcs as symbolic of their strength and independence of their race. Since they are already biologically quick to anger, this trend has been embraced with gusto, and now many orcs consider it to be an important part of their culture.

I hadn't considered that barbarians don't speak the trade tongue very well because it's their second (or third?) language. Which opens up some possibilities...

"Is attack by syrup! Is coming syrup! Be defend! Be Defend!"

"Calm down, Uthak Hackmanson! We can't understand you! What Syrup? why do we need to defend ourselves?"

"Is syrup! Is syrup coming, very dangerous! Be defend now! Make bell noise!

"What? Syrup? the sweet stuff you put on pancakes? brown, smells like Canadians?"

"No! No! Not pancake! Is flowing, is creeping, is melt flesh like ice! is black squishy!?

"What..., wait, a giant killer black pudding!?!"

"Yes! Is pudding!"

*Cue The Blob to roll the entire town*

I like this thread. It is answering questions and presenting possibilities.

 

[Shane]

True, but it still comes off as cheese if two barbarians of the same culture who can boast of having a highly developed second language are incapable of actually talking to each other in it, no?

How is it any less "cheese" than the two Elves, or whatever race that aren't bilingual and can't speak in their race's language?

And don't try to tell me that everyone that plays an Elf has spent countless hours learning Tolkien's languages or some crap. That's BS. I promise you that only a few stupidly hardcore players can speak Elven, and then only a few choice phrases most of the time.

 

[Zymm]

I find this rather confusing myself, having just come from my first event.

How do you tell a naked human, a naked gypsy, and a naked barbarian apart if they've all got gags on and you're trying to decide who to sacrifice to the Golden Serpent?

The human is shivering, the barbarion is "less groomed" and the gypsy's gag is monogrammed, because they brought it themselves.

 

[Wraith]

True, but it still comes off as cheese if two barbarians of the same culture who can boast of having a highly developed second language are incapable of actually talking to each other in it, no?

How is it any less "cheese" than the two Elves, or whatever race that aren't bilingual and can't speak in their race's language?

And don't try to tell me that everyone that plays an Elf has spent countless hours learning Tolkien's languages or some crap. That's BS. I promise you that only a few stupidly hardcore players can speak Elven, and then only a few choice phrases most of the time.

Of course not. But having their own language isn't used as an explanation for any of their racial roleplay requirements, either. As the race reads, at least to me, it simply implies that barbarians use a simpler grammar and vocabulary because they lead simpler and more direct lives, and haven't had any -need- for pretty language.

If you wish to be able to speak another language in character (such as elf or sarr), then you must actually learn it. When you wish to talk in the other language, then you must talk in the other language. This is to prevent someone from overhearing you talk in English pretending that it is another language only to have you say “You didn’t understand that; it’s in another language.”

 

[RiddickDale]

Thought: Barbarians don't typically use writing. Which implies they have a primarily oral culture. Which implies that they tell stories, teach lessons, remember laws, history, and lineages, and discuss philosophy primarily by oral means. Which, in turn, suggests that whatever language they do speak, people who are able to use that language very well would be highly valued and things like poetry and story telling would be valued. But 'speak poorly' is listed in the barbarian RP requirements.

Every Barbarian who casts Earth magic can read/write. No exceptions.

 

[Wraith]

Or use Alchemy, for that matter.

 

[Tetsu]

Dwarves have beards. There is not a whole lot more I can say about that.

If a Dwarf lived in a tropical climate in the world of Alliance, he or she might groom their beard so that it were thin and braided, or maybe even let it dreadlock.

I mean, damn, look at Tom Hanks! When he was chillin' with a volley ball on ZOMGFedExPlaneCrash Island his face looked like a colony of dust bunnies.

Observe:

 

[Dreamingfurther]

For instance the vulcans from which they have been clearly ripped off feel as much (some argue more) than any other race but they don't allow themselves to express the feelings.

The thing to remember is that Vulcans CHOOSE to supress emotions. Stone elves HAVE TO DO IT. Why? FOIG hehehe

I'm pretty sure this aspect is chapter specific. There are some Stone Elves I'm pretty sure that don't HAVE to do it... Just saying

 

[Angrydurf]

Yea as each racial packet is chapter specific the stone elves must not show emotion as per the racial RP requirements (like dwarves hateing trolls/orc/ogres) but the why and how are up to the chapter. I think if an owner wrote up his stone elves as complete vulcan clones that woudl be legit though possibly anger the rodenberry estate.